Last week Greater Ohio appeared on "All Sides with Ann Fisher," a daily public affairs talk show broadcasted throughout central Ohio.  On January 19th's show, Lavea Brachman and Matt DeTemple—the executive director of the Ohio Township Association—discussed regionalism and what regionalism means from the perspective of townships.

We welcomed the chance to talk about opportunities for partnering with townships because we have identified regionalism and governmental cooperation as a key component of a broader strategy for increasing prosperity in Ohio and improving our overall economic competitiveness nationally and globally.

As the most basic governmental entity in Ohio, townships are well positioned to collaborate with their neighbors and coordinate services—regionalizing processes that, DeTemple pointed out, are already voluntarily occurring throughout the state.  On the show, we praised such activities and suggested that they be encouraged by local and state lawmakers for their cost savings and quality of services potential.  For example, a recent study from the Greater Cincinnati area found that in the first year of Hamilton County’s Government Cooperation and Efficiency Project, townships, villages, and cities saved over $1.5 million dollars.

As Ohio’s new General Assembly works to balance the budget we will continue to urge lawmakers to encourage and incentivize collaboration.